Canada

In 2013, the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition observed:

‘With only a few provinces actively reporting overdose fatalities, it is difficult to gauge the extent of opioid related overdose deaths and injuries across Canada. What we do know is that prescription opioid related deaths have risen sharply and are estimated to be about 50 percent of annual drug deaths.’

Asia

Statistics on drug-related deaths in Asia are unreliable due to poor regional coverage and reporting of mortality data, however, it is estimated that the Asian sub-region accounts for 35% of the global total of drug-related deaths.

Scotland

It has recently been estimated that Scotland may have the highest rate of drug-related mortality in Europe: 160 per million compared to the UK average of 60 and the European average of 20.3) (EMCCDA 2017). This represents a significant increase: in 2015 the drug-induced mortality rate was 94 per million (McAuley et al 2016)

In 2015, there were an estimated 7,585 overdose deaths in the European Union (rising to 8,441 if non-EU members Norway and Turkey are included). This represents a 6% increase from 2014. The drug-induced mortality rate in Europe currently sits at 20.3 deaths per million population aged 15-64. Rates of greater than 40 deaths per million were reported in eight countries, with the highest rates reported in Estonia (103 per million), Sweden (100 per million), Norway (76 per million) and Ireland (71 per million).

Oceania

Oceania, primarily comprised of Australia and New Zealand, has a drug mortality rate 2.5 times the global average (at around 100 per million population). However, due to comparatively small population, the raw numbers remain low (between 2,000 – 2,500 drug-related deaths in 2015).

In 2016, Australia recorded 1,808 drug-induced deaths in 2016, the highest number in 20 years.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (2016) ‘Drug -induced deaths in Australia: A changing story’: Government of Australia.

South America and Latin America

Countries in South America, the Caribbean and Central America reported a mortality rate well below the global average. The number of drug-related deaths was estimated at between 7,000 – 11,000 in 2015.

Source: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) ‘2017 World Drug Report’: https://www.unodc.org/wdr2017/field/Booklet_2_HEALTH.pdf

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